Saturday, October 19, 2013

When we flew to California in 2012, I couldn't find much online about packing and traveling with a tube-feeder, wheel-chair user, etc. Eli did great on our flight, makes him sleepy actually. So, our trip to see my Great Aunt Wilma in the Napa Valley was a great success!

I had the opportunity earlier this year to write an article for our local children's magazine, called PlayDate, about traveling with a child with disabilities. Here is a link to my article:

One thing that I didn't mention in my article was the wheelchair the airline offers for those who can transfer out of their wheelchair. They will put you on this little skinny thing, and load you on the plane. This wheelchair is small enough to fit down the center aisle of the plane, so you can then transfer into the airplane seat. (I got in trouble for taking this picture! So, I gotta share it!)

Eli is not able to sit in a regular airplane seat, so we had to take his carseat.

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK IN EARLY - AND BOARD EARLY!

You totally break a sweat getting the thing into the plane, belted in, going back out, getting your kid, carrying them up the stairs and into the plane (we have to do that on Horizon Air), and then buckle them into the chair in the tightest space you can imagine, while everyone else is trying to board and wondering why you are taking so long! Stressful! The flight attendants were WONDERFUL and our time in the air went by quick as Eli loved to nap while flying. They didn't have any problems with Eli using his electronics!

Finally - to make our trip a little easier, I bought this "Roll n Go" to haul the car seat through the airports. Looks like they are no longer available through the One Step Ahead catalog. Bummer!

Hope you enjoyed my article, and if you have more questions, feel free to comment on this post and I'll get back to you! Happy traveling!

I have a couple older articles I wrote for them, too. Mostly about my journey raising Eli.

Eli Jansen - The Star of the Blog!

My handsome little "Bug". Completely addicted to Despicable Me! Finally gave up listening to Elmo (hooray!) and now listens to his movie! Very opinionated about his music. (He comes by that honestly - my husband and I are both music lovers.) He's my: Bronco-riding, Chain-Loving, Pom-Pom shaking, Best-Shopping-Buddy-Ever, and makes me laugh every day!!

Amy - Wife, Mom, Blogger

8 years into this journey, and I'm amazed at the things that have happened in my life because of Eli. He is an inspiration to so many, and his smile can make anyone feel better, immediately. I never imagined that my son would be so awesome. I am blessed!